While the OL had a slew of penalties, they gave Ryan Mallett ATS on 25 of 42 drop backs (60%). His results by ATS:
Summarizing relative to expectation:
Some observations:
— I used to tell people that you meet more weird people in a week in Las Vegas than in a year at home. That’s not an accident, because you see extreme behavior from extreme stress (like people losing money). Analogously, Mallett faced no significant pressure on the day. He was knocked down just 3 times. The Ravens never trailed, so he avoided any desperation drives which have a much higher chance of interception. Furthermore, the Steelers only brought 5-man pressure on 7 of 42 drop backs. I don’t want to take anything from an good performance, but he was not tested by this game.
–The ball came out quickly, which is good to see.
–He threw with good touch, most notably on the zipper pass to Matthews for the first TD.
–He seems to have a good sense of when he can fit a ball between 2 defenders in zone coverage. That’s an area where even experienced QBs can have difficulty and accumulate interceptions.
–You can’t overstate the value of the 0 in the INT column, something the Ravens had accomplished just twice in 14 prior games (Flacco vs. Cle and SD).
–He’s signed for next season and he’s clearly now the front runner for the backup job. His play gives some hope the Ravens would be able to manage their way through the first few games without Flacco if that becomes necessary.
I’ve included the scoring from each of the last 2 weeks since I didn’t publish a piece last week. The Ravens ran 73 meaningful snaps versus the Steelers (no kneels).
SEE 2015 OL GRADES BY GAME HERE
Osemele: Kelechi has been remarkably consistent at LT, just not at the highest level. Heyward crossed his face to take down West for a loss of 4 (Q4, 1:49). He allowed a full QH when beaten inside by Harrison (Q3, 14:55). The 3 non-sack, pressure events are good for a LT in a game with 42 drop backs. He started the season with 45 penalty yards in his first 7 games, but his false start Sunday was his first penalty in 9 weeks. I scored him for 1 pancake, 2 blocks in level 2, and 3 star blocks. He caved in Harrison to push him right on a pivotal 3rd and 2 play (Q4, 3:46) to create a gaping hole for West. Unfortunately, West was unable to bounce into the great wide open, because Yanda was beaten inside by Tuitt, who took him down for no gain.
Scoring vs. KC: 66 plays, 58 blocks, 3 missed, 1.5 pressures, ½ QH, 1/3 sack, 51.5 points (.78 per play). With adjustment for quality of competition, that’s a B.
Scoring vs. Pit: 73 plays, 64 blocks, 5 missed, 1 penetration, 1 (2 X ½) pressures, 1 QH, 1 false start, 54 points (.74). C.
Jensen: Ryan had an outstanding game if you ignore his 2 penalties. He had just a single negative pass-rush event (1/2 pressure) after allowing 10 pressures, 6.83 QHs, and parts of 2 sacks in his first 4 starts. He had 4 highlight blocks, including a pancake of Heyward (Q4, 4:58). He made 5 blocks in level 2, including erasing Shazier on Allen’s 14-yard run up the middle (Q4 6:24). As a blocker, there is a lot to give hope from the Steelers game, but he’s now had 50 yards of penalties in his 5 starts. The unnecessary roughness isn’t easily viewable, even on the coaches’ video, but he and Osemele were double teaming Jarvis Jones on a pass play (Q4, 12:20). Jones went down and Jensen fell on top of him in a manner reminiscent of Siragusa and Gannon. The flag was thrown by the referee (not the umpire, who was closer), and the timing was such that it appears to be the play itself and not extracurriculars. To add a positive note, false starts and personal fouls are correctable. Were the flags for illegal use of hands or holding, I’d say they are a product of getting beat, and thus more difficult to address.
Scoring vs. KC: 66 plays, 59 blocks, 2 missed, 2 (1 + 2 X ½) pressures, ½ QH, 1/3 sack, 51.5 points (.78 per play). That’s a C with adjustment at guard.
Scoring vs. Pit: 73 plays, 68 blocks, 4 missed, ½ pressure, 1 false start, 1 unnecessary roughness, 55 points (.75 per play). That’s a C with adjustment for opponents and highlight blocks. Without the penalties, he would have a high A with a raw score of .92.
Urschel: I’m worried about John Urschel. He followed up a great game versus the Chiefs with another awful performance versus the Steelers. He had 2 of the 6(!) flags thrown on the line. One was for a hitch in his snap and the other was a ticky-tack hold on Shazier. Unfortunately, that’s not where the problems ended. He allowed 3 pressures to Tuitt and McCullers and had difficulty anchoring against those 2. On the positive side, he made 12 of 15 blocks in level 2 and regularly took Shazier out on run plays (good example: Q1, 5:44). John has yet to have a fall-off-the-chart scoring game, but this was his 3rd F in 6 starts.
Scoring vs. KC: 66 plays, 62 blocks, 2 missed, 1 (2 X 1/2) pressure, 60 points (.91 per play). With adjustment, that’s an A at center. This was one of the most important performances by a young player versus the Chiefs, but unfortunately…
Scoring vs. Pit: 73 plays, 66 blocks, 3 missed, ½ penetration, 3 pressures, 1 false start, 1 holding, 50 points (.68 per play). F. He’s 4 points short of a D- after adjustment.
Yanda: Marshal was penalized for the second consecutive game after having just 1 flag in the season’s first 13 games. Other than the false start, he allowed Tuitt to jump cut past him to take down West for no gain (Q4, 3:46), which cost the Ravens a big conversion. I did not score him with any negative events as a pass blocker.
Scoring vs. KC: 66 plays, 63 blocks, 2 missed, 1 pressure, 1 clipping, 52 points (.79 per play). That’s an C+ with adjustment for competition. The penalty had a big impact on his raw score and grade. Without it, his raw score would have been .92, which would have been another A with or without adjustment.
Scoring vs. Pit: 73 plays, 67 blocks, 5 missed, ½ penetration, 1 false start, 63 points (.86 per play). A-.
Wagner: One can only hope the play of Wagner and Jimmy Smith has been affected by their Lisfranc sprains from last season. Neither has looked like the same player and Wagner may now be playing with other leg ailments. Even with the injuries, he still centers his opponent well, he just gives too much ground to do so and frequently gets backed into the pocket. The pressures by the Steelers were spread among 5 defenders. I hope he’ll sit out the finale, but I don’t have any doubt he’ll return at a higher level in 2016. After Brandon Williams, he is the most significant 4th-year player for whom the Ravens need to make an extension decision.
Scoring: 66 plays, 54 blocks, 5 missed, 4.5 (3 full + 3 half) pressures, 1/3 sack, 43 points (.65 per play). D+.
Scoring: 73 plays, 63 blocks, 4 missed, 5.5 (5 full + 1 half) pressures, 2/3 QH, 51 points (.68 per play). That’s a C with adjustment, but his 4th consecutive raw score in the .60’s.
Hurst: James played as a 6th offensive lineman and made 6 of 7 blocks.
Other Notes
–Kyle Juszczyk’s 34-yard reception (Q4, 11:25) was the 2nd longest by a fullback in Ravens’ history, trailing only his own 39-yard catch versus SD. He’s added another dimension to the offense. He’ll be a free agent in 2017 and I expect some team to pay him well.
–I’m still having trouble understanding the double-challenge of the unchallengeable play on Givens reception (Q2, 13:39). Harbaugh seems to be saying “You had it right” on the sideline and that’s the way I saw it. It was a difference of 44 YAC.